Novo Nordisk posts 6% sales growth for 2025 and forecasts a decline in 2026
Novo Nordisk's 2025 sales grew on obesity care, but its 2026 forecast points to lower U.S. prices for Wegovy and Ozempic as the company faces new competition and patent expirations abroad.
Novo Nordisk reported full-year 2025 sales of 309.06 billion Danish kroner, up 6% in kroner and 10% at constant exchange rates, the company said [1]. Operating profit was 127.66 billion kroner, down 0.5% as reported but up 6% at constant currencies, and net profit was 102.43 billion kroner, up 1.4% [1]. Both sales and operating profit landed inside the guidance the company had given for the year [1][2].
Obesity care led the growth, rising 31% at constant currencies, while GLP-1 diabetes products grew 6% [1]. U.S. sales rose 8% at constant rates and international sales rose 14% [1]. The company said it provided treatments to 46 million patients in 2025 [1].
Alongside those results, Novo released 2026 guidance earlier than scheduled. It expects both sales and operating profit to decline 5% to 13% at constant exchange rates [1][2]. Analysts had expected a sales decline of about 1.4% and a profit decline of about 3.1% [1]. Novo said the outlook assumes the global GLP-1 market keeps expanding and that it can reach more patients, but at lower realized prices. It expects growth outside the U.S. and a decline in its largest market [1][2].
The reaction was sharp. Novo's U.S. depositary shares were briefly halted and fell as much as 14% in afternoon trading [1][2]. Source accounts of the 2025 share decline differ: CNBC reported a 46.5% drop [2], while another account put it at nearly 49% [1].
Fourth-quarter sales were 79.14 billion kroner, down 7.6% from a year earlier but above the 76.9 billion kroner analysts expected [1]. CNBC, citing LSEG estimates, put the analyst figure at 77.8 billion kroner and quarterly operating profit at 31.7 billion kroner, down 14% year over year [2]. Wegovy sales in the quarter were 21.86 billion kroner, above expectations of 21.07 billion [1], and up 17% at constant exchange rates [2]. Ozempic brought in 31.8 billion kroner in the quarter, up 1% at constant rates [2], and 127.09 billion kroner for the full year [1].
CEO Mike Doustdar said the company faces "pricing headwinds in an increasingly competitive market" in 2026 but is encouraged by early uptake of the Wegovy pill [2]. Novo attributes the pressure to most-favored-nation pricing agreements in the U.S. and to semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, losing exclusivity in Canada, Brazil and China in 2026 [2]. It also faces competition from Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound [1][2].
Why it matters for patients
Novo and Eli Lilly agreed with the Trump administration in November to cut GLP-1 prices for Medicare and Medicaid in 2026 and to offer discounts directly to consumers through a planned TrumpRx.gov site, which was expected to launch in January [2]. Those agreements are designed to increase volume while lowering total revenue, which is part of what Novo cites in its 2026 outlook [1][2]. Lower list prices do not automatically translate into a specific out-of-pocket cost for any one patient, and the sources do not give patient-level costs.
On the oral side, Novo launched the Wegovy pill in the U.S. on January 5, 2026, and weekly prescriptions reached about 50,000 by January 23, driven mainly by the starting dose in the out-of-pocket channel [1]. The company said the early adoption exceeded its expectations [1]. The sources do not say whether the forecast decline affects supply of Ozempic, Wegovy or the Wegovy pill, and Novo said it still plans to increase patient reach [1][2].
Semaglutide is losing exclusivity in Canada, Brazil and China during 2026 [2], which could open those markets to generic versions. What that means for U.S. availability or pricing has not been reported.
What happens next
Novo plans to launch Wegovy in additional markets in 2026 and to introduce a 7.2 mg dose in several countries [1][2]. Regulatory decisions are expected in 2026 for Mim8 for hemophilia and for CagriSema for obesity, with Phase 3 results due for etavopivat and ziltivekimab [1]. Eli Lilly is expected to launch its own weight-loss pill in the first half of 2026 [2]. Novo's board proposed a final dividend of 7.95 kroner per share at the annual general meeting set for March 26, 2026, and approved a share buyback of up to 15 billion kroner, about $2.4 billion [1].
Sources
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